CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY 5 Discoveries That Changed Our Understanding Of Ancient Egypt Key Takeaway: Mummification is older than archaeologists imagined, with the oldest known mummies from the Old Kingdom era (c.2500-2100BC) being specially prepared by embalmers. Chemical tests have revealed that resins and perfumes were already being used to help preserve the skin of the dead over 6,000 years ago, before coffins were common. The ‘recipe’ varied […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK The Art Of Balding Balding is really common, affecting more than 50% of men. It’s also physically inconsequential (bald men live just as long as haired men). So why, in his memoir Spare, does Prince Harry refer to his brother’s baldness as “alarming”? As a social psychologist with a special interest in balding (and author of an upcoming book entitled Branding Baldness), […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK Cats In The Medieval Ages Key Takeaways: In the middle ages, men and women were often identified by the animals they kept. Keeping an animal that was lavished with attention, affection and high-quality food in return for no functional purpose – other than companionship – signified high status. Pets became part of the personal identity of the nobility. The 14th-century […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY The Importance Of Ritual Key Takeaway: A “ritual” is a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. They are often embedded in a larger symbolic system, such as religion or philosophy. The oldest evidence for ancient rituals is found at Mt Carmel in Israel, where a woman was buried 130,000 years ago. Rituals play an important role […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK The Origin Of Christmas Trees Key Takeaways: The humble Christmas tree is emblematic of the growth of market economics and world trade. Who would have imagined that fir trees would be grown in Denmark especially for the export market, or that factories in China would produce plastic replicas? So, let’s climb on the sleigh and take a ride around this […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY Why TikTok Might Be A Threat To Music Key Takeaways: Viral TikTok videos have meant success for new and established artists alike. The short-form video service has earned US$12 billion (£10.5 billion) in advertising revenue in 2022. Many of its most popular videos feature music – available to use for free – through its audio library. TikTok pays the “Big Three” record labels […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK PHILOSOPHY The Philosophy Of Ghosts Key Takeaways: French philosopher Jacques Derrida invented the term ‘hauntology’ for his 1993 lecture Spectres of Marx. It is that eerie zone where time collapses and our past memories and associations haunt our minds, like a ghost. Hauntology also describes a post-traumatic-like disquiet of those born in the 1960s and ‘70s. English theorist Mark Fisher […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK PHILOSOPHY Are The Ancient Truths Of Buddhism A Modern Invention? Key Takeaways: For many people, Buddhism appears to be uniquely compatible with modern lifestyles and world views. Buddhist mindfulness has influenced many schools of contemporary psychology. Buddhist philosophy embraces constant change and the inherent impermanence of all things. The 19th century Burmese monk Ledi Sayadawtravelled the nation teaching meditation and founding study groups. The forms […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK The Secrets Of The Mummy Of Tutankhamun Revealed Key Takeaways: King Tutankhamun was born around 1305BC and ruled Egypt for about ten years. His death is still a mystery, but there is no sign he was murdered. He was buried with flowers and his appearance was preserved by special techniques. Two miniature coffins were found in a wooden box in the tomb’s treasury. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY Leadership Lessons From Game Of Thrones & House Of The Dragon As anybody who has been in a leadership position knows, no single style fits every situation. In my book, Management Lessons from Game of Thrones: Organization Theory and Strategy in Westeros, I examine how characters, organisations and situations in that fictional world have surprising parallels to the way business is done in the real world. I […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Unlocking The Secret Language Of Honeybees Key Takeaway: Honeybees use a physical “waggle dance” to communicate the direction, distance and quality of resources to their nestmates. Bees are born with some knowledge of how to dance, but can learn how to dance even better by following experienced bees. This is the first known example of such complex social learning of communication […] Written by James C. Nieh March 10, 2023March 10, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is Web3 A Fad? Key Takeaway: Web3 is an alternative vision of the web where the services are purely algorithmic things hosted by everybody, and has been called “the hyperfinancialization of all human existence”. Data is no longer easily accessible, making it difficult for entrepreneurs to acquire more users, leading to a stagnant cycle. Web3 startups have focused on […] Written by Eric Feng March 9, 2023March 9, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Art Of Receiving Feedback Good feedback, whether you are on the receiving or giving end, requires an attitude of curiosity and openness. Intentionally creating space for feedbackcan help, but even with the right space, receiving feedback can be really scary. Many organizations have formal systems of feedback in the style of mid-year and annual reviews. And it’s not uncommon for informal continuous […] Written by Andrea Mignolo February 27, 2023February 27, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The World After Oil Key Takeaway: The production and consumption of fossil fuels is on the rise, and expected to peak within the next decade. To consider alternatives to oil, we need to be aware of the scale of its integration into our lives. Caleb Wellum, an assistant professor of U.S. history at the University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada, […] Written by Nehal El-Hadi February 24, 2023February 24, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Secret Chemistry Of Chocolates Key Takeaways: Chocolate has been around for at least 4,000 years, and is now a trillion-dollar global industry. It starts out as a dull-tasting bean, packed into a pod that grows on a cacao tree, and requires two key steps: fermentation and roasting. Roasting is an art form, with different temperatures and times producing different […] Written by Sheryl Barringer February 23, 2023February 23, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Making Sense Of UFOs In The Modern Era Key Takeaway: UFOs are the term used to describe aircraft that aren’t easily identified or explained, and have been around since the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 2020, the U.S. Navy released multiple videos of unidentified aerial phenomena, sparking interest in the public and government. UAPs are more likely to be human-made, rather than […] Written by Wendy Cobb February 17, 2023February 17, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
What Is Effective Altruism? Key Takeaway: Effective altruism is an intellectual and charitable movement that seeks to find the best ways to help others. It was inspired by the philosopher Peter Singer and has gained traction due to its popularity among some extremely wealthy donors, such as Dustin Moskovitz, who co-founded Facebook and the Asana digital work management platform. […] Written by Jacob Bauer February 16, 2023February 16, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking Education Key Takeaways: The Industrial model of education that fueled the modern era and its dizzying reach did its job incredibly well. In his writing, Flynn illustrates study after study, spanning nations and decades, in which modern educational gift of abstraction — a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Raven’s Matrices — has been […] Written by Anthony Fieldman March 2, 2022October 19, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How China Is Transforming Its Economy Through Learning I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […] Written by Enrique Dans February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why You’re Not Seeing Success With Influencer Marketing With the new year around the corner, now is a good time to re-evaluate your past marketing strategies and gear up for the year ahead. For some businesses, influencer marketing has simply not seemed to live up to its lofty promises of genuine engagement, credibility, and transparency. Some have claimed that it has been failing […] Written by Michael Tan January 14, 2021January 15, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A New Philosophy of Business I’m about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and I’ll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what “community” means for business. “Where should community fit in my organization?” and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
